Shadowed Hearts
by silverheartlugia2000
Summary: Sora hasn't acted like himself after almost being possessed by team Xehenort. Then he up and runs off. Riku is still on edge from the dream world as the gang runs after him, what would Sora do without his Dream Eater to protect him? Soriku, Roxel, and maybe some Cleon later, 3D spoilers
1. Darkened

**_Ok so.. I've been sitting on this idea for years.. only recently have been able to flesh it out just a smidge but I still have no reason behind it yet or much plot thought out so opinions are appreciated! The new trailer hype has me aching for Roxas to come back..._**

 _Where the hell is he?!_ Riku growls under his breath drudging across town _. I swear I'm going to convince Cid to make a universal dog chip and embed it into his neck myself!_

After the Mark of Mastery Sora had been rather off. His younger friend insisted that he was happy and proud that Riku passed of course, but he and Kairi knew he was just hiding his own disappointment. After all, Sora had the Keyblade first, which was supposed to be Riku's but ended up getting it as the second cut. Saved the known multiverse (twice), lost and regained his memories in a coma that caused him to miss a year of his life _(and a big chunk of puberty apparently... lucky runt..)_ And in the end gets upstaged by Riku. Again. Like he had his whole life..

It wasn't just that though. The island trio along with Axel (Everyone was just too used to the name and 'Lea' wasn't exactly the same as he was even with his heart back, he was technically marked dead for years anyway) had practically moved into Yin Sid's tower for further training and easy contact with the King. In the weeks since the exam Sora seemed to be slowing down lately, tired, sluggish to react, and hiding winces of pain when he thought no one was looking.

Worst symptom they see was his attitude. Contrary to popular belief Sora can get grumpy, snappish and downright pissed. But when Riku outright corners him, trying to get the brunet to just admit he was sick and rest a little; ends up getting _HISSED_ at, shoved, and called an _'effing overprotective mother hen'_. Something was seriously _wrong._

Of course an hour later Sora found him again, apologized and told him not to worry a dozen times over, but not the point. How can Riku _not_ be concerned? It was his fault all this started in the first place, Sora had _literally_ gone through hell and back to find him again. Then when he gets trapped in his own dream and almost..

Riku shook that thought out of his head before he could finish it. One last place to check and he'd need to move on. It's been nearly two and a half days now since the morning Sora's room was found empty. No note, bed not slept in, not even any of his equipment missing except what he already kept in his pockets at all times. Kairi was understandably beyond enraged, her wrath was even setting Axel on edge. It only took an hour to plan out search party routes.

Surprisingly the princess had dumped the list marked with the more likely 'I need time alone' hidey-holes Sora would use on Riku. He was sure she would stake claim to them but that scheming knowing grin Kairi gave him before he left was something he did _not want to think about thank you very much!_

The docks looked just the same as the last time he saw them, of course town would be more likely to house a person having real shelter and food and whatnot. None had the high chances of here though. Riku struts out across the sands of Play Island. _Home._

The silverette turns the corner to get around the back of the island and stops cold. Someone was sitting in the sand at the opening of the smaller sheltered cave, Riku didn't take the time to register just who this person was as he was more focused on the unusually large Shadow they seemed to be enticing out inch by inch with an outstretched arm.

Riku's Keyblade flashed into his grip, yellow eyes snapped to him and scrambled away to hide. The unknown person gives a shout while Riku runs past, cornering the Heartless quickly. It growled at him warningly, not attacking, not defending, but that hardly registered when Riku swings. A flash of light in the corner of his eye, the sound of metal meeting metal rings as his arm stops cold and gets flung back, followed by an angry and strangely familiar voice. "You Hearts damned _IDIOT!_ I was _this_ close to finally getting through to him!"

Riku drew back, distancing himself from his new opponent to take stock of the situation. It took all of two seconds for his brain to stall in confusion. "What the..?"

Before him stood Roxas. As in Sora's Nobody, who shouldn't physically be here right now but _inside_ Sora. The blonde had a black tee, pants rolled up to the knees and sturdy looking boots. That odd X shaped necklace glinted in the sunlight along with both his Keyblades, (why did he always pick the ones that represented Kairi and himself..?) drawn and standing between Riku and the Heartless, defending it.

The silverette's stunned look slowly drifted between the two before it finally clicked. The Heartless cowering behind Roxas was wearing a standard Org. XIII cloak. The hood that had hidden the signature hairstyle had slipped down in its haste to escape. Riku's already pale skin grew even fainter, "Sora..?"

Roxas dragged Riku off away from Sora. The poor Shadow was still too worked up and recoiled every time Riku tried to get close to him. It made the older teen feel sick, to think he almost killed his best friend, and couldn't blame it on being brainwashed this time. It left him pacing small laps anxiously. Habitually starting to run a hand through his hair before remembering how short it was now. So he settled for drilling into the Nobody instead.

"What happened?! Why is Sora a Heartless?!"

"He's not a Heartless! At least not really. I think.."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"Look! I don't really get it either! The best we figure is it's a cope for being exposed to darkness too long, it pops up sometimes when he activates a Drive form and burns away any darkness that he absorbs accidently."

Riku drew silent, Sora hadn't used his Drive forms since the battle with Xemnas. He never even heard about this darkness covered one. Is this what he meant back at that black beach? That 'he thought darkness had gotten to him too'?

"If it's a Drive shouldn't he be out of it by now?"

"That's just it!" Roxas cries throwing his hands in the air. "This isn't normal! I'm out here working on my tan. Sora is still fit to run around Halloween Town unnoticed. And for the last two days I've been trying to convince him to go back to Dumblebeard for help. Almost did too, until you tried to decapitate him!"

Riku flinched softly. Obviously the blonde wasn't happy to see him first anyway, but this might be a hard point to get over anytime soon. But they could work on that later.

"….You were talking to him? He still understands us like that?"

Roxas sighs, anger mellowed for now. "Kinda? I didn't really get the sense that he was really clear thinking when it started happening. I figure its more a base instincts thing most Heartless have, but names, faces, and body language seems to get through pretty well.."

Meaning with Riku attacking him like he did Sora wasn't willingly going anywhere near himself or a Keyblade anytime soon… Then again when it came to his set-in-stone mindset, sometimes the direct approach was best.

After debating with himself for several minutes, Riku marched back off to where the Shadow was still hiding. Roxas followed after, nearly lunging at the other when his Keyblade reappeared. "Hey! What-"

"Sleep!"

Sora slumped to the ground limply, Roxas' jaw snapped shut, looking frustrated and making a mental note to learn that spell later.

Riku carefully scooped up his friend, surprised at how incredibly light the transformation seemed to make him (at least he hoped that was _just_ the transformation..) adjusting to where Sora's head rested against his shoulder. As he stood up though, he felt a cool face snuggle under his chin.

Willing the red away from his face (Riku swore he could faintly hear Sora purring, not that the rumbling he could actually feel against him did anything to suggest otherwise) they moved back out to the open. Riku opening a portal back to the tower.

"Uh were you coming back too or..?" Riku glanced to Roxas, if he really wanted to leave he would have by now right?

The blonde seemed uneasy at that, looking away awkwardly. "I'm not comfortable leaving Sora yet, I owe him.. Seems like there's a lot more to the Keyblade that I could stand to know too.." That is if they didn't try to get rid of him again, was left unsaid. "Besides, where else would I have to go to? And I still need to kick your ass from that last cheap trick you pulled." Roxas smirks striding off ahead and vanishing through. Yep.. still salty..


	2. Shattered

**eh this feels too dialogue heavy but i tend to ramble a lot when setting up plot.. at hopefully whatever i do next wont be as inner monolougey?**

 *** is sora talking**

 **/ is roxas**

He could feel it coming, that strange growing heaviness in his chest that started to appear from time to time after he woke up from that pod. Sora hadn't had this feeling for a while, not since he and Riku had finally gone home. Being held captive by the gang of Xehanorts must have done more than that strange coma.

 _/Sora, you really aughta drain this off soon. You're twitchier than Stitch on a caffeine high./_

 _*No, I'm fine.. Just a little longer..*_ The brunette replied to the voice in his head. Roxas had met him while he was asleep. Tried to push what was left of his being and memories into Sora fully. He wouldn't have it. Ever since they'd properly met, the former Nobody stayed present in the back of his head, talking to Sora, making snide commentary on his practice duels with Riku (he was still not happy with the older teen..) sometimes he managed to make Sora do or say something he hadn't meant to and laugh at his own pranks.

Sure Sora was close to Riku, always had been, but this felt different. He always thought Riku and him were connected in a special way though unsure how. That is until finally meeting up with them at The Castle That Never Was, he thought he'd be overjoyed to see Kairi again, but he broke down crying at Riku's feet insteead. He'd seen enough Princesses chasing their Princes to put it together..

With Roxas though, it was weird. Like they were long lost brothers that only just reunited, but still knew the other in and out. His twin of heart as Sora teased to the blonde one day.

Roxas deserved to be his own person. Yes, he was part OF Sora, but not Sora himself. And Sora was glad to let his Meow wow to pounce and lick the blonde to death till he relented to tell him as much, leaving him intact.

Currently though, he was becoming a bit of a nag..

 _/Just tell them! You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep this up!/_

 _*I'm fine Rox! Next free day I'll go do it but I don't want to worry them right now. Riku finally got over his own emo feelings about inner darkness, what'll he do if he sees me?*_

It wasn't like he was outright dangerous when it happened. Oddly as long as there wasn't anything directly attacking him he seemed pretty docile from what Roxas told him. Sora's own memories of the transformations were often fuzzy and vague, more feelings than real solid thoughts. Of course that didn't predict how the others would react to his appearance without anyone to tell them that..

They weren't even sure if Donald or Goofy ever saw him like that. The Toons would both disappear like with most of his other forms.. Only Roxas seemed to know about it, having had to poke him in the right direction from time to time when the Shadow got distracted. Sora hadn't even known he was there yet, but he remembered Roxas' voice saying things like 'No don't eat that!' Apparently, Sora's common sense was even less present in a Heartless mindset.

 _/….Fine.. But I'm holding you to it. I_ will _take over if I have to./_

Sora smiles to himself softly _. *Whatever you say bro.*_

He didn't make it to the next day off. Everyone had been sent to bed when it hit, a cold chill fell over Sora, seeping into his skin, his lungs caught, choking on air and it felt like a ghostly hand was clenched painfully around his heart.

Sora stumbled to the floor of his room in the tower, one hand holding him up the other clutching at his chest _. /Sora? Sora! What's wrong?!/_

"Hurts.." Heaving in breaths the Keyblader was just barely able to get his feet back under him and stable, but fell again when over taken by a painful spasm. Roxas had seen enough. They needed to leave for somewhere safe, and _now_. Sora couldn't resist the slightest bit when the Nobody pulled at his strings, jerkily summoning Sora to his feet and toppling them through a dark portal.

Sora was flung face first into a bed of sand. Wherever Roxas took them gave him the sense of familiar and safe, but he couldn't gather enough sense to be sure where it was though. His breathless voice muffled squeaks of pain as something choked him from the inside. The setting sunlight turned the cold on his skin to a light burn. Sora couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't summon his energy to activate Limit form like he usually did when this happened.

Sora could barely hear Roxas yelling. The Nobody's presence felt so faint and far away. This wasn't normal, it felt different this time, it hurt too much, it felt WRONG.

The dying rays of sunlight finally disappeared from the sky and Sora screamed.

 **~~wavy transition effects with harps~~ (hey I'm a 90's kid :P)**

"And suddenly poof here I am.." Roxas trails off digging into his pilfered sandwich, maybe they should start stashing non-perishable snacks out on the island. Two days! He was starving!

When they arrived at the tower there was of course a bombardment of questions, near suffocation from an unusually emotional pyrokinetic, and finally a dark glare from Riku when all the noise started to unsettle the Shadow sleeping in his personal Dream Eater's arms. The older teen had refused to release his grip yet.

Now they were all gathered around Yen Sid's study, sitting in various spots on the floor while Roxas explained to the wizard and gang the best he could.

"Ok but why does he have a cloak?" Riku asked.

The blond shrugs, "I woke up in it." He held his arms out to the sides, drawing attention to the rest of his attire in matching black. Including the gloves in his pockets. Axel had too actually so why not? "It was too hot out there to wear it during the day but he was happy to snatch it. I think it was 'cause of the sun. Light doesn't hurt him to the extent it would a real Heartless, but it does still sting and irritates his instincts."

"So it's safe to take it off?" He wanted to get a better look at this 'Heartless' form. Kairi snorted softly and hid her smile at the teal eyed glare she got in return.

"Actually yeah, there's something else I'm curious about.." Roxas scoots over just enough help remove the coat, which ended up being draped over his own shoulders out of habit, then moving back to his spot by Axel.

Sora's skin and hair were ink black as Anti always is, but his crown shaped necklace stood out as silver as ever almost glowing in contrast. His clothes had hints of midnight blue, red and silver highlighted here and there, and the back of his hoodie had a hybrid design of an elegant heart (the logo one) and an incomplete Heartless emblem in silver and red. A tiny pair of lightly twitching wings emerged out of his shoulders, like miniature versions of the ones a Darkside has.

"Usually he's completely black all over, at least from what I know. The wings are new too. And I'm not exactly sure how I got this back either.." Roxas drifts off in thought, fingering his chain with the X shaped pendant. Axel did a double take, blinking, He had been stretched laying on his back comfortably, but for an instant he thought his eye caught a flash of color on the blondes back. But nothing was there.

Riku absently started tracing a finger around Sora's crown one. It felt cold at first, matching the darkness that clung to the boy's skin. The more Riku fidgeted with it, the silver began turning pleasantly warm. He then jerked his hand back in surprise when the warmth started to thrum with a pulse. But when he returned his touch to the pendant it was back to cold.

Yen Sid closed his eyes in thought, fingers stroking the long grey beard for a while. "Perhaps we were too quick to believe Sora's time as a Heartless, even briefly, had no adverse effects lingering behind. With as many trials as his heart has been through, it could have resulted in this form being conjured to shell it from falling completely into the darkness again."

Roxas frowns thoughtfully setting down his empty plate. "Makes sense.. It'd always pop up more often when he'd been upset, even without a lot of Heartless around. He never attacks people either, I mean unless they go after him first, but never for their hearts. Heck, the most dangerous thing about Anti is his curiosity, always wandering around like a puppy investigating whatever he caught eye of. Got attacked by a nest of squirrels once."

Riku huffed a laugh. Sora's heart was one of the mysteries of the universe, it seemed like a magnet to good and evil alike. Every new world he visited, anyone he met became an instant friend to add to his ever growing circle. On the other hand many less friendly ones sought to use him too, whether as a magical locksmith, heart collector or just straight up possessing him…

Thinking on that note though, Sora has also somehow managed to collect lost hearts and shelter them. Kari for one, had slipped in without his notice. And the king's letter that worded this odd power, drug up a scrap of memory of Sora feeling sad for someone he'd never met. Riku had scrambled for something to say, giving him the most reassuring, grown up-like advice his 7-year-old self could possibly come up with.

Even a heart as strong as the brunets, with how many times its been attacked or stripped clean, Riku wouldn't be surprised for there to be a small crack or two. But his was more damage than he thought possible…

The room stilled when Sora whined. Eyes snapping over to Riku, who was sitting on the floor while the Not-Heartless shifted in his lap. Yellow eyes blinked open, glossy at first with sleep, then sharpening into awareness at the sight of Riku hovering over him. His first reaction was an odd squealing cry, blasting Riku with a pulse of darkness and scrambling away to the shadow under the nearby desk. What colors he did have fading into the shade as he sunk into it despite the tight space, leaving only the watchful glowing eyes visible.

The silverette groans softly as Kairi helps him up from the wall he got knocked into, Roxas laughing merrily. Axel glanced between the Islanders with amusement. "You two have an argument or something?"

Roxas was still giggling, leaning on Axel until he could breathe again. "You could say that. If chasing Sora off with a magic sword of light and scaring the shit outta him counts."

Kari frowns, slapping Riku upside the back of his head. "OW! I didn't know ok?!"

She glared at him for a few more seconds, then huffs turning back to the yellow orbs observing them all. The desk only rose of the floor a few inches, Anti had more Heartless powers than that Dark blast.. "So what do we do?"

"Get him to come out..?" Roxas shrugs.

"After that genius…" Riku snapped back, getting a glare in return.

"I'm afraid this is one matter that is beyond my knowledge. But there may be others who might be of some help. You did mention there being others that had been restored when you awakened, did you not Lea?" Yin Sid turned to the pyro, along with everyone else.

Axel sat thoughtful for a few seconds before what could be called fear slid across his face. Eyes wide in defensive anger. "Wait, you mean- NO! No no! I don't want him anywhere near these two! No!"

Roxas knew that face, knew who was being talked about without even asking. He groans softly dropping his head into his hands. It wasn't like the guy was the most popular of the team….

 **Design of Sora's emblem art (ugh why wont ff let me post links?! just go to Deviant art and look for my name, same as this one)**

 **Next time we go to visit old enemi- er friends! (i kind of like demyx though should i throw him in? where did he go during 3d? :( )**

 **Ok so I'm going to throw a small theory in here real quick. I know Axel's real age is a mystery and people tend to make a big deal about the age gap between him and the rest of the gang. But recently I thought, is there really that big of one? In BBS Ven/Lea/Isa was around 15 ish, and Sora/Riku might have been 6/7. But there still was a few years between then and the fall of Radiant Garden. Time enough for Lea, Isa and Ienzo to hit the growth spurts into what we see them as in the Org. but what if being Nobodies made them stop aging? Most the members that were already adults haven't changed much between BBS and 3D. For all we know once they were people again Axel could only be 19-20 compared to the gangs 17-18's. both Aqua and Ven haven't changed a day as far as we know either.**


	3. I can see the color in your heart

**Ok as much as I like Kairi and would love to see her actually do something other than play damsel in distress, I have no idea what to do with her so for now she's just going to stay with Yin Sid.**

Despite Axel's insistent protests, and a few of Roxas', it was really the only idea they had. So in the end they gave Kairi a good bye, promising extensively that if they got in trouble they would call. Her vehement threats on keeping themselves and Sora safe didn't go ignored, she did have a literal sixth sense for it. And then the four boys had been packed into Sora's Gummy ship. Better for the group to keep together than a dark or light portal. Plus, they weren't sure how one would affect Sora while he was awake.

As Sora was the only one of them who knew how to fly one, Yen Sid made sure to lock it into auto pilot. Leaving the boys to free to swivel the chairs around and talk.

"How'd you even get him to come out?" Axel hums. Sora kept rather close to his Nobody since getting on the ship, still giving Riku cautionary glances and a wide berth. Axel he seemed neutral to for the moment, but didn't fail to flinch at sudden exaggerated movements.

"Remember when Demyx showed me those cat videos cause he wanted to see if I could get Shadows to do the same thing?"

"…..No way.. He really fell for that?" Axel was grinning now, full out Cheshire mischief dancing in his eyes. Roxas always thought he looked rather catlike, Axel's fire could even make his eyes glow in the dark.

"Yep! Then again, I'm pretty sure a Shadow is the closest thing this form relates too.. Definitely not as smart as some of the stronger ones."

Riku spoke up quietly, "He was a Shadow… Back when he.. uh, yeah.." the sentence drifted off as the teen looked away at the floor arms crossed across his chest.

"Anyway, what are you talking about, what do cats have to do with this?"

Roxas just grins, Axel ran off to dig in his bag, "Wait for me, I wanna record this!"

Turned out, Nobodies were far more entwined to the element that they're gifted with than the others thought. Roxas being Sora's nobody, gave him the light element. The destiny group had figured he could only use it for Keyblade powered attacks the same way the rest of them could.

Roxas could actually create and manipulate light. Sora was currently proving this by chasing around the equivalent of a laser pointer. It flew around in the open air, as if he had plucked the glow right off of Tinkerbell. Running circles around under and over the teens and stationary objects in the room. Sora would just get close enough for his claws to graze it before it flitted away again.

"He's gonna hate this if I show it too him, isn't he?" Axel chuckles keeping the camera of his deep red colored phone trained on Sora bouncing around the cabin, snorting just as he bunched up and lunged. The fairy light dodged to the side at the last second, Sora rolling into the wall instead.

Cid had been tinkering to improve cross world communications between them all for emergencies. There were still some signal issues to work out on certain worlds but he had managed to get a reasonably working connection into every day cell phones. Come to think of it Rox should get one too, the islanders all already did in case the gang at Radiant Garden wanted to get ahold of them. Those letter bottles were awfully unpredictable.

"You should probably hide that, just remember locks won't work." Roxas pulled the light back to hover in his hand.

Riku watched as Sora followed it, pretty much crawling on all fours to sit by Roxas. The blonde set the light in his Others hand where he seemed contend to just curl up and hold it. "I thought you said he didn't like light like this?"

"I said that light hurts cause of the form, plus he thinks more like a Heartless so it's kind of wired in that way. He's still got his own light under there, just more in an in between state right now." Roxas shrugs softly. "That and he knows that that's my light. He recognizes it somehow, and it wouldn't hurt on purpose."

As if he caught on to being talked about, Sora rolled the glow around in his hands a bit before leaning over and rubbing his head against Roxas' shoulder like a cat, purr and all.

Riku sighs inaudibly turning his gaze down at his feet and closing his eyes. Roxas glanced from Sora over to Riku, then to Axel pointing between the two then intertwining his fingers in question. Axel rolls his eyes and shakes his head, then nods to Sora mouthing 'not exactly being subtle' then nods to Riku and knocks on his own head.

Roxas tilts his head back in exasperation, looking to his Other with a frown. With all the 'gossip' talk Roxas had too listen to and how much more forward Sora's been, he would have thought _something_ had happened by now. And Riku was supposed to be the smart one…

On his part, Sora wasn't sure why Roxas was giving him that look. Opting to shrink up slightly like he thought he was in trouble. The little light Roxas gave him pulled closer to his chest protectively.

…ok.. first step, they needed Sora to trust Riku again. But the blonde still wanted to kick his ass first chance they had.

Roxas plotted to himself for a moment, smirking softly as the light suddenly flew out of Sora's claws. The Shadow gave a wail of surprise and protest. The noise causing Riku to look up just in time for the light to vanish in front of his face and Sora pouncing into his lap after it.

At first all Riku could see was the disappointed pout on the charcoal face at seeing his sparkly disappear. Then it tensed up in fear once he realized who he landed on. Sora kept still, afraid of retaliation. When Riku's shocked face didn't change, he slowly started to back away. Only to find he couldn't as arms pulled him forwards and held him in place.

Sora trembled slightly, he couldn't help it, Riku didn't like him before, didn't like what he was. It wasn't until he felt fingers in his hair and mumbles in his ear that Sora realized he wasn't being attacked but hugged. He couldn't understand what Riku was saying really, words just felt muffled to his brain, but he could sense the emotion in it. Guilt, sorrow, a pinch of fear, and buried under it all was a hidden but strong and fierce protective affection.

 _I'm sorry. I didn't know. I won't let you get hurt again._ _ **I**_ _ **don't want to hurt you again.**_

Slowly his tremors eased, relaxing into the hold. He felt tired. Why was he tired? He had slept not long, ago right? It was just for some reason he felt safer than he had for a while. When it was just him and Roxas there hadn't been any danger, no, but Roxas didn't seem to think that. He was always worried and in turn it worried Sora.

Now here, here he felt safe, warm, content, Riku kept murmuring to him, Sora's eyes got heavy, his head softly butts under Riku's chin nuzzling closer. Roxas had walked closer lightly touching his hand on Riku's chest next to where Sora's face was hidden. It pulled away dragging a flicker of light with it. He could hear them talking in whispers, maybe arguing, Roxas just offering the spark to Sora like before.

Cradled in his hand he could feel the difference. It wasn't Roxas' light, it didn't have the white-gold-trace-of-black feeling to it. But it wasn't Sora's light either, his was a blue-silver-smidge-of-red with a small wisp of green-steel-grey-cream that came from the Sleeper. This was Riku's light, it had traces of black like Roxas, meaning bits of darkness, but also silver that matched Sora's and reminded him of Riku's hair. Small bursts of the sunshine yellow he often wore. And snatches of teal, maybe sea-green? That blinked like eyes before melding back in.

Roxas had sat back in his seat, Riku observed Sora curiously while the other studied the spark in his palms. Finally, the Shadow closed his hands around it gently bringing it close to his chest. Snuggling more comfortably in Riku's lap, and nestling his face in the curve of the older's throat with a purr for a much needed, more restful sleep. The spark was his, it came from Riku, same as the one Roxas had given of himself earlier. But now this was his spark and it would stay his. His to hold, his to protect, his to seep in and connect to his heart to link and bond. His to love once Riku finally got over his fears to love him back.

 **I think its pretty much a given that Heartless are very sensitive at deciphering peoples emotions, especially negative ones. But as a Heartless Sora could be able to see/feel the very aura of peoples hearts. In his eyes Roxas was offering him a piece of himself (and Riku) as a sign of trust. Allowing Sora around something so precious to Roxas, letting him play with it even. It showed how much Roxas trusted Sora to protect him. Of course Roxas has a similar ability to see the colors of ones light, or darkness but it only got to a decent level after he was back in Sora's heart which had more experience when seeking light in others.**


	4. Fire and water and darkness oh my!

The rest of the flight was quiet, Sora sleeping peacefully was like some signal to let Roxas doze off too. Riku imagined that neither of them must have got much sleep. Being stranded with no food and really, the only decent bedding was the beach sand itself. He still wasn't sure if Roxas could still make portals, or if the blonde had just been hoping someone would eventually find them since otherwise he could have easily brought them back to the tower himself.

The ship had parked close to the castle hours later, well out of the eyes of the townsfolk. Roxas had apparently inherited Sora's inability to wake up quickly. Instead of rising to his own feet when nudged awake, he just wrapped his arms around Axel's neck, a wordless command to be carried. The redhead just chuckles and hugged him tight, silently complying. Riku didn't even try with Sora, the Shadow was stuck on him like a leach anyway.

Roxas had been given a new set of clothes by the three fairies before they left. Hanging on to his uniform would likely only cause trouble. But having worn the coat for most of his 'life' and Axel grown so used to it, the weight and embrace of the coats still gave them a weird sense of security sometimes. The fairies were kind enough to sort of fuse the coats as a spell into their clothes, able to change from the everyday clothing back into the coats if needed. Besides black hoods were much more effective for stealth than a vibrant red mane.

Roxas had color scheme similar to his Twilight Town wardrobe, mostly black and white, and the style itself more fit for traveling than just plain everyday city clothes. The darker pants did not swallow his feet, ending just below his ankle. Sturdy white running shoes. A white overshirt (with hood of course) whose sleeves belled around the elbows, the cuffs and waist with his signature checkerboard pattern. Underneath was a darkish grey tee with swirling gold lines in no particular design. A rich blue, four tailed scarf wrapped loosely around his neck. It wasn't part of the fairies' initial design. Just coming to on its own, but Roxas felt he'd seen one similar to it before.

Axel on another hand, had been more than happy to put some color back in his wardrobe after Riku was named a Master. Currently wearing an outfit similar to his favorite one from before he lost his heart, but with a few tweaks. Long sleeve black shirt, flame orange vest jacket, red cargo pants. Emerald bandana tied on upper left arm. And combat boots just because.

They were halfway through the bailey cavern just about to reach the hidden cave that housed the Garden of Remembrance when Sora shifted in Riku's arms. Riku did his best to keep a hold of the wiggly Shadow until Axel stopped walking, a curious frown on his face.

Riku stopped right behind him, "Something wrong?"

"I sense a disturbance in the flames…" almost like he was trying to sound like a cryptic old man. The Flurry glanced around for a moment then crouched setting Roxas down by Riku's feet. "Stay with them." Axel mutters, stepping a few paces away towards the rockface.

Axel called forth a handful of flames and tossed them through the holographic wall into the Garden. Nothing happened for a minute. Then, from thin air, right above his head a large bubble appeared, splashing down with all the wetness of being thrown into a pool. Axel's hair drooped with the weight, steam wafting lightly around him as if his fire was snuffed right out.

Riku barked out in laughter, the sudden noise startling Sora the rest of the way awake, he couldn't help it. Axel looked more like a pissed cat after a bath than gearing for a fight so this must be something he was used to.

The entire scene was enough to finally kick Roxas into gear, groggily watching Axel dive past the projection and come back with another blond trapped in a headlock. He was just about Axel's height with a hair-cut that looked something like a mullet, squirming like a fish to escape his captor.

"..Demyx?!"

Fifteen minutes later, Roxas and Riku finally pulling the literal polar opposites apart, not without more wrestling, some tickling, and another splash in the face, Demyx strolled with them as they started towards the castle again.

"I don't know man, I just literally woke up right in front of my door in there, if anything you'd think it would have been more towards the canyon.." The musician shivered for a second, catching Sora's attention again.

Roxas stumbled for a step when the Shadow jumped up to cling to his back, peering over his shoulder like a protective cat, _Damn he weighed nothing like this.._ Golden orbs staring into Demyx's face, assessing him.

The latter stilled. Caught frozen in the gaze. "I-is that..?"

"Yeah.."

"How..?"

"That's why we came here."

"He's not gonna.. Wha-what's he doing? Why is he staring at me?!"

Sora held his gaze a few seconds more, then leapt back to the ground, batted a paw against Demyx's hand and trotted off towards Riku again. The silverette laughs as the Shadow pushed against him, pawing to get picked up again. "Pretty sure that means, 'don't try and kill me again and we're friends.'"

"Wha?"

"Yeah, I know. But that's Sora for you." Riku shrugs giving into the brunet's insistent tugs.

After the fiasco of the Mark of Mastery had settled down Mickey had contacted the Restoration committee to inform them of their newly gained tenants, Leon had agreed to let them stay, the castle was mostly empty anyway, and they had shown themselves fully against Xehanort's plan now that they knew the whole story. Plus having a few more fighters was never a bad thing, and their knowledge and past research into the heart proved to be helpful.

It still didn't make it any easier for Riku to walk into the midst of the former Nobodies that tried to break him in Castle Oblivion. Sora apparently agreed. Even if he couldn't remember most of them thanks to Namine, it didn't keep the Shadow from hiding himself behind him. Or he could just be feeding off of Riku's unease.

The others themselves though, greeted Axel well enough, showed surprise and to some extent joy on seeing Demyx. But Roxas and the Shadow of his Other that clung to Riku's legs had pretty much stalled all other conversation and was the only reason Ienzo managed to pull Even from whatever project he was obsessing over to come hear the story.

"We had thought that the ones who didn't reanimate here ended up under Xehanort's thumb as Seekers of Darkness." Axel twitched softly at the thoughts of empty gold eyes staring him down, a heavy blade leaning against his own chakram making his arm tremble.

"But perhaps that isn't true for all." Even had given Demyx a quick once over before bringing the other four to his lab. The sitarist seemed more than happy to hang out with the others for now.

At first it was a basic physical exam, Sora kept squirming under the colder-than-a-normal-doctors hands. Roxas would wince but he was used to it. Sitting near Axel helped, being a natural space heater and all.

"Outwardly they are intact, except for mild malnourishment and muscle fatigue, but three days seems too short a time for this extent."

Riku groans covering his eyes. "Sora you idiot…" The Nightmare he was drawn into had affected Sora physically, he'd gotten tired easier and his magic was sorta weak. Yin Sid had said it was from his heart going so far asleep. Riku thought he was recovering! Most likely he had been pushing through everything to appear somewhat normal and wearing himself out to catch back up. Sora had done the same thing after they returned to the isle, too used to moving on to the next world as soon as needed to start watching him at mealtimes again to make sure he ate.. Actually what is he going to feed Sora when he was like this anyway?

Even paused when his hands brushed the chain. It made Sora flinch, leaning away and growling a low warning, but Axel saw the look. That scientific curiosity that usually meant bad things. Barely snarling out a warning at the man before icy hands clasped the silver again, eyes staring at it far too intently before it suddenly gained a light coat of frost. Heartless and Nobody reacting in an instant.

They both yelped cringing in pain. In twin synchrony, the two clutched at their chests, shuffling together till they stood back to back in defense. The sigil on Sora's back pulsed his wings ruffling in agitation, something fazing into existence on the blonde's shirt as well the scarf rippling on its own wind.

Riku jumped forward only to get slapped back by one of the blue tails, Sora putting up a spell that was awfully similar to his own Dark Barrier around them. They both looked panicked, pained, but also blank in a way? Roxas's eyes lacked focus or recognition, while Sora seemed near feral filling the room with growls.

"What the hell did you do frostbite?!" Axel snarls gripping the collar of Even's labcoat. The room warmed by a few degrees.

"Nothing! It was only enough magic for the feeling of cold. Like ice cubes pressed against the skin. I imagine it startled them more than anything. Just let it pass."

Axel growls again, letting go and moving back over at the pair. His extra heat was quickly getting rid of the frost on Sora's chest, but he turned it up a little more anyway. Slowly, gradually, the split halves visibly came too as the tails slacked and the barrier dropped. Roxas glancing at them all in drowsy confusion. Riku stepped over and rubs Sora's back earning a sleepy whine.

"Fascinating.. It seems Sora's heart had been damaged. Perhaps it was sectioned off already, to be prepared in a safe way to free the trapped soul within his when it wakes. But Xehanort's meddling shattered it prematurely. In the process, it seems to have given part of itself so that Thirteen could exist on his own. As consequence, both are incomplete at the moment, but show signs of healing."

"Incomplete?" Riku starts, "You mean Sora actually is a Heartless right now?"

"In a manner of speaking. At least more so than this Drive you've described. Which is also why Thirteen here is actually less of a Nobody than before. Now having a small fraction of a heart for himself. They are in between the in between."

"Wait, what just happened? You're saying I have a heart? How can I have a heart?!" Roxas still looked lost, his hand roaming over his chest, hunting for some telltale thump but finding none. "I don't feel it!"

"I was getting to that… An interesting point in this metamorphosis of you two, is that neither heart is actually being kept inside your bodies. Being incomplete as they are, it would likely destroy them, convert you fully into your respective halves and likely revert you back to the state you were when you were born."

Axel giggles softly. He had moved to lean on the table just beside them once he was sure they were fine, fiddling the switch for a Bunsen burner, "Return of the Zombie? Yeah I don't think you'd like that much buddy."

Even continues, well-practiced in ignoring the former. "Rather for some reason both hearts are being kept in those pendants, why them specifically I do not know, but like this they are still in contact holding the body and soul together safely."

"So, if we take off the necklaces…"

"I wouldn't know, but I don't recommend trying it. Disconnecting from the hearts, even in such weak states, may prove deteriative."

Riku's eyes drifted to Sora's crown. Was that why it wasn't coated in darkness like the rest of him? Instead of being smothered by it, his heart had taken refuge in something Sora kept just as close? Riku could barely remember a time the brunette didn't wear it after he first started to.

"So how does that explain the wings…?"

"That particular trait is more to do with his species as a Heartless. He was a mere Shadow when he lost his heart originally yes? Shadows are the weakest in its family, but are still closely related to Giga, Mega, and Neo Shadows." Riku nods still not seeing the point. "But Darkside are also in this family, as such I can only surmise his Darkness has evolved somewhat since that time."

Riku's gut clenched. There was long list of things that could have affected Sora's heart, a few of the bigger ones being connected to his own actions blaring towards his conscience. _Boy_ it should be given a medal like Jiminy's! And then get it ripped _right_ back away..

"Stop playing with that burner or I will make you its replacement when it inevitably breaks!" Even suddenly snaps, towards the redhead sitting beside Roxas.

Axel barely glanced at the academic, instead of complying he pulled the small gaslight closer and circled his arms around it like a shield. His cat-like eyes just daring for them to take it away. He looked exhausted all of a sudden. He didn't use that much power warming the room did he?

Roxas frowns softly reaching over and threading his fingers through the red locks, those bright green eyes slipping closed with a hum. "Still not dry.. Ax are you feeling ok?"

Even scrutinized him more carefully now. "When is the last time you had a proper bath?"

Riku raised an eyebrow at the question. He was pretty sure Axel took regular showers. Especially with heavy training sessions in their daily schedule. The pyro however turns away from him grumpily.

"Eight!"

Axel flinched and grumbles, "Ugh, before I faded I guess? I didn't think I needed them anymore since, you know.."

"Apparently you do. Go take one, now."

The red head sighs feeling too tired to protest, "'s there even a decent fireplace here..?"

"I'd rather you stay where you can be supervised. Aeleus is in the kitchen, I'm sure he would be willing to share the stove top."

Axel only grumbled shuffling out of the room, Riku looking after him confused.

Sora clung to Roxas when they were finally released, both looked pretty tired still. Even chalked it up to the stress of splitting and the state they fell into when he iced Sora's crown. The two days stranded didn't help at all.

In fact, Sora had just shown a new Heartless power. It seemed he could shrink down to the size of a normal Shadow if he was tired enough, currently laying on top of the blonde's head like a hat snoozing away again. (Kind of reminded Riku of Saturday mornings they spent together watching Pokemon. Only if Ash was blonde and Pikachu coal black.)

Roxas didn't even take notice that his scarf was swaying on its own again. He was too busy making sure his words made sense.

"See some of us with more base elements kinda get sick when we use magic to much. Zexion, Luxlord and a couple others usually did ok cause their powers are pretty much uh.. whatever the opposite of physical is? Tan-? Intan..? I don't know.." Roxas rubbed his eyes tiredly, "But when you get to the more fundamental ones like fire and water we'd have to pretty much recharge once in a while I guess? Like Demyx would nap in the tub or spend the day in Atlantica. Larxene would keep close outlets and kinda feed off of them. Axel usually likes to sit in the middle of a fire pit or near lava flows. Calls it simmering."

"I guess that makes sense, But stove top? That seems like a weak substitution."

Roxas shrugs turning the corner, the large man was indeed at the stove stirring a large pot of stew. The left rear burner was lit too, though nothing seemed to be placed on it. But looking closer there was something sitting in the direct flames like a coiled snake almost. After glancing at it the blonde set himself at the table yawning before laying his head down on his arms. Sora never even moved from his perch the whole time.

"You know there's not a lot of worlds that are _required_ to take new forms in. Still some of them do it to you anyway. And I guess that once you're granted a new form you can use it anytime you want after some practice. In the Land of Dragons Axel gets changed into a little pocket dragon like Mushu, and sometimes it's better to use that to simmer in than trying to build a human sized fire. And easier to get back in control if he flares it up on accident."

Riku's eyes brightened at that. Personally he hasn't had a need to go to such a world yet, but Sora had stories of being both a merman and a small lion cub. (He had been curious on seeing that.) Hell if Sora was small enough to fit in a pet carrier it would make keeping track of him loads easier.

Riku sat with the two for a while, watching as they both drifted off to sleep. Sora wiggled at one point sliding down Roxas' head to curl up between his shoulder and the curve of his neck. The silverette couldn't help but smile and take a few pictures.

As much as he didn't want to leave them alone he knew they needed rest. And despite the venom towards the team alchemist both former Nobodies seemed to trust the people here. Riku needed to find Leon and the others, they needed to know Sora was out of commission. Plus he was very against a repeat of the beach incident if he could prevent it…

He was only gone less than an hour, he hadn't even let Leon call the others yet. But something slammed into him with the force of a charging Roadster. Riku gripped his head as images flashed by. Sora, darkness, himself… what was happening?! Leon was knelt beside him he knew but he couldn't hear him. Too focused on the images. But there was something else… he could hear.. a Meow Wow? Now he could see one. No not just any, it was Garfield. The first one Sora had made, painted all orange just like his cartoon namesake. Was he seeing Sora's dreams?

Riku leapt up ignoring Leon, who just ran after him anyway, he needed to get back to the castle.

 **I have a question about world transformations actually. Why in BBS was Ven only mouse SIZED?! I mean I can get that since it was originally a handheld and they had so much other stuff to do than make a completely new model just for the one world and the one character. Like Roxas didn't get a costume for Halloween town in Days either. But I'd like to hope that at one point they actually did plan to did give them new forms, maybe see concept art if there is any out there?**


	5. Dreamcatcher

**Ok been stuck on this for a while cause I couldn't get it the way I wanted it, plus motivation in general, but sometimes bad emotional days can be beneficial so the first part of this is brought to you by: _The Power of Venting About Negative Self Worth!_ ™ still not completely happy with this chapter, lets blame the warp powers of dream logic. The last part is brought to you by KH3 megahype! Italics are mostly Sora's thoughts/attempts at speech**

Sora ran as hard as he could, but he still didn't seem to be moving an inch. _But he had to try he had to get there! They needed him! They depended on him! He couldn't see their faces but he knew they were in trouble!_

Something flashed in front of him and the shadows were gone. The faceless figures cheering and giving praise to the new arrival. _Riku! He made it!_ Sora's feet finally got traction again as he caught up to the group, but his smile slowly fades into confusion at the scene. Riku didn't look at him, he kept his back to him. The other people turned to snarl in his ears **. _'some hero you are!' 'thanks for nothing!' 'are you sure he's a Keyblade wielder?' 'I didn't even see him use one..'_** Sora pushed them away trying to get to Riku instead, he tried to speak but his voice had vanished. When the older boy finally acknowledged him, it wasn't the warm friendly look he was expecting.

"Sora you're falling behind. We can't afford to keep babysitting you like this. Lea's got more experience than any of us and Kari's a Princess of Heart. If you can't keep up **, just give up and go home already."**

 _Why… why would he say that?_ Sora's had the Keyblade longer than _any_ of them! Sure he'd been a little off his game lately, but he's the one who took on Xehanort's Heartless, he's defeated most of the Organization and the League of Villains! He was there for the battle of 1000 heartless, had endured injuries he wasn't sure he would have survived without healing magic, gone up against monsters sometimes 100+ times his own size. He slayed _Maleficent_! He knocked the Heartless out of Riku in the first place!

 **"But that wasn't enough was it..?"**

 _That voice.. who?_

 **"It's not even your power, you just keep _borrowing_ from others."**

 _R-riku..?_

 **"Can't even be left on your own without calling for help hmm?"**

Darkness surrounded him suffocated him, he couldn't breathe no matter how much air he tried to suck in.

 **"My My, no wonder it was so easy to put you in that sleep."** The voice chuckled from beside him, it was deep and grizzly and far too familiar. Sora spun and leapt back, staring into the golden eyes of an elderly man. **"You've got no strength at all boy! All those accomplishments and what have they gotten you? Nothing! Surely, you've noticed that they're still keeping secrets from you? You've seen the look in the old wizard's eyes when he sends you away right?"**

 _Well.. yeah there's a lot of times Yin Sid has pulled Riku off privately, with Mickey.. but it's not on purpose! It was just Master only stuff right?_

 **"Sure, sure, tell yourself that."** The old man smiles to himself, turning to walk a few steps. **"But why _did_ Riku get the title and not you? He's fallen to the darkness willingly, while you've sacrificed yourself over and over. You've saved them many a time yet you were the one to get pushed aside in the end."**

 _That..-that was not his fault! He's the one who walked deeper into that dream! Riku saved him from it! He deserved it!_

 **"Is that what you really think? Why were you so far in in the first place?"** Xehanort continued his pacing, reminding Sora far too much of getting circled by hyenas.

 _He didn't know.. they were tricking him.. baiting him.._

 **"Oh? What about when you LOST your Key? Was that someone else? Or is it your weak heart, are you sure that's even your _true_ Key?"**

 _It was! It came back didn't it?_

 **"Are you sure? Why did it even come to you?"**

 _Because! Because…_

"Because you were the only choice left."

Sora spun around again Xehanort was gone, in his place was Riku. But not Riku.. he was younger, smugger looking, like when they meet in front of Hollow Bastion..

"You were just the delivery boy remember?" the silverette smirks and something in Sora's chest throbs. He's pulled down to his knees, from the pain. Riku squats in front of him. "And the old man pretty much hollowed out what little skill you did have. That's why you've been feeling so empty." Riku lifts Sora's free hand into his view, his breath quickening at the sight of inky blackness. "Just give in already, you've done it once. Wouldn't it just be easier? It'll all go away. Maybe if you're lucky I might decide to keep you as a pet! You'll probably be more useful as a Heartless anyway~"

 _Why.. why was he saying these things…_ was Sora ever good enough for him? Was this the real reason why Riku wouldn't stay? He had tried, he had fought so, so, SO _hard_ to keep everyone _safe_! He'd thought Riku liked him... he thought….

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Not-Riku had a second to look surprised before claws swept through his middle, his form fading away like mist.

Sora looked up in shock, Riku was destroyed by, ….himself? It was the current Riku though, but he looked weird, he had claws and fangs, cat ears poked out from his mane of multicolored hair and a brightly colored tail came out from his pants.

The angry snarl faded from his face now that his opponent was gone. Riku turned to Sora with a worried frown. The brunette's hand was clenched in his shirt, right over his heart. Tears fell down his tan cheeks until it touched the darkness that had engulfed half of him already, even his dream self was turning Anti.. "Sora…"

Sora hiccups, wary and afraid. Did he not realize this was a dream yet? Riku dropped the link drive crouching down next to him. "Sora..? You alright?" Riku reached up cupping Sora's cheek, the smaller boy flinched at first then slowly leaned into the gentle contact, the yellow in his eyes fading slightly.

Riku smiles warmly, "There see? It's just me, the real me. It's alright now."

 _The real..?_ Riku heard Sora's voice as little more than a whisper, but his lips never so much had twitched. Sora's face pinched in confusion, coupled with the sadness in his eyes it just made Riku want to pull him close and never let go.

Instead he just smiles again with a huffed laugh, "Come on Sora, I thought you knew me better than that. Plus you kind of were the worst Heartless I ever saw."

He meant it as a joke. He expected Sora to smile even if just a little. Riku didn't see any but the last few minutes of the dream before he arrived so he didn't expect the wave of thoughts almost drowning him and for the half Shadow to flinch away trembling.

It was different than during Yin Sid's test, but then again they had been forcefully separated into different planes. Riku supposed this was the real power of being someone's Dream Eater. For a moment he was overwhelmed, he saw doubts, flashes of memories, along with some long-suppressed insecurities and traumas that he will have a long talk with Roxas about later. A few Riku and Kairi had suspicions of but never pressed him on, some he never knew of, mixed in with all of it were repeated questions on why. _Why did Sora get his Keyblade? Why did he still have it, what if it really wasn't meant for him? Why Riku kept pushing him away? Why did he think Riku felt the same? Why Riku has yet to just take the Key that was rightfully his and go off without him like what happen-._

The wall finally broke, Riku rushed forward pulling Sora into the warmest, tightest hug he dared to make without managing to hurt him. He wasn't sure how, but some weird sense told Riku there was _something_ in here, something _foreign_ _invading_ and actively _feeding_ those thoughts and he HAD to chase it off, HAD to protect HIS Dreamer from IT.

"Sora.. Sora no, please I'm sorry.. I know how you've tried to get me to listen since we got back home and I do care about you too, a lot. Like a LOT a lot. I just.. I was scared to admit it I guess.. You and Kairi seemed like such a thing and I was jealous. Teasing you about it only made it worse for me and when the Door finally opened that night."

Sora had gone still in his arms, the soft trembling more from crying than fear now.

"I hurt you, I hurt you both and I didn't even realize it till it was to late to fight back. All of a sudden you were this big flashy hero, with sidekicks and everything. I was so blinded by my own jealousy that I didn't see how you kept looking for us. I thought you didn't care, you'd just forget us, that I had to get that Key away from you to even have a chance… It made me weak enough for him to take over…"

It was Riku's turn to start crying, he felt Sora's arms slowly start to hug back. But now that he started this spill Riku couldn't stop till he had finished.

"And then you.. You idiot! You went and carved out your own heart! It snapped me awake again, I saw your Heartless forming while the others ran, I knew it was you cause you still had so much damn light even if it was hidden under Darkness.."

There was so much more that made it through his lips, he wished he had found him sooner in Castle Oblivion, he is sorry about what happened with Roxas but he figured Diz knew more than he did and it might have been the only way, he was actually touched that Kairi recognized him even when he wasn't him and damn near cried himself when Sora collapsed at his feet.

"But now you've gone and turned Heartless again, and we don't know why. It's about time I get my head out of my ass and accepted the fact that Darkness still going to be a part of me. And I don't care if it's got a small part of you too. We'll get you back to somewhat normal somehow, I promise. And then… maybe we can try doing this relationship thing again, the right way..?"

He felt the change instantly. The foreign thing cringed, retreating out of his senses and Sora's dream was no longer seeped in sadness, the dark fog around them shattered into shapes that flew off revealing dazzlingly beautiful stain glass windows of various people Sora knew. They hung in the air pouring light around them till Riku would have said they were outside during the day. He couldn't stop from examining them quickly.

There were the six princesses of heart, Sora surrounded by faces of his friends, Roxas still had his own, and one that Riku had never seen before. Not that he could make out much, he could see some yellow and red and black, there might have actually been two people on it but the darkness had barely lifted from it leaving it still mostly obscured. Maybe this one belonged to the person Mickey suspected was hidden away in his heart?

"Riku..?"

Riku was drawn away from his wandering thoughts when Sora said his name, the return of the light had brought his voice back too. He pulled back slightly, Sora's grip tightened, but Riku only made enough room between them that let them talk face to face.

"Am I really a Heartless..?"

"You don't remember?"

"it's.. hard."

Riku frowns softly, "Roxas said you had an Anti form, what happens when you use it?"

Sora looked surprised and then confused, "Roxas said? Riku what happened? Please just tell me.."

And he did, Riku counted back over the last week, from finding his empty room, to Riku finding Roxas, all the way to where they are now, in Sora's dream, after somehow triggering an instinctive Dream Eater distress signal. Sora sat quietly listening, by the end of it he was visibly worried.

"Why don't you remember all that?" Riku asks again, they had settled against an invisible wall of some kind, it felt suspiciously like the bark of a tree though. Sora had laced their hands together and leaned on the silverette, pleased that for once he didn't pull away.

The younger boy took a breath, thinking it over. Trying to translate it into human terms. "I do, sorta? Its just all scrambled.. I can't really trigger Anti on purpose. It only happens when I start getting this heavy feeling in my chest, sometimes I use Drives too much and absorb Darkness along with the magic around me, sometimes its too much stress, sometimes its both."

"But when it happens everything sort of turns fuzzy. I forget things if it stays too long, it always comes back once it's over but it's the forgetting that scares me."

Riku pulls him into another hug, trying to press all the comfort that he can into the touch. Sora had always been very touch oriented. That's why it was so easy to fall back into, even when Riku had been avoiding it. "What do you forget?"

"I… I'm not actually forgetting things, at least not in a complete way I think. But sometimes it feels like it's hard to remember I'm still human. I get so caught up by the instincts, I can see things I can't otherwise, I can't even use magic while like that. And when I come out of it, its hard to figure out what happened because everything seems so different when you see it with a Heartless point of view. I don't think so much in names as I do a bundle of descriptions, I can hear emotions in people's voices more than words they say, and there are colors everywhere that I know are supposed to help define things but I never could get it to make sense of most of it after I change back. Probably the only reason I can explain it at all right now is because I'm sort of normal here while still Anti on the outside maybe? I'm not sure how much of this I'll remember later…"

Sora shifts, looking up at Riku. "But I don't think its something I can completely get rid of either, the other Drives came from the outfit the Fairies made me, Anti still happens without it even when the others don't. And I do feel a lot less of that heavy sick feeling afterwards."

"Master Sid did agree with you that it might have been turned into a defense mechanism from your heart being directly attacked so much.." Riku offers, "Plus you did turn back to normal without Roxas so maybe you did, and always will, still have a bit of Heartless in you because of that. But right now, you and Roxas are very unstable it looks like, something forced you apart in the wrong way and you both might end up completely turning if we aren't careful."

"But can we come back..? Do you think we have to merge again or can Roxas stay his own person? I don't want Roxas to force himself through that again.. How long will it take? What if I end up forgetting things for real and I can't even remember you anymore?! What if-"

"Sora!" Riku gripped him by the shoulders with a gentle shake, "Breathe, ok? Its going to be alright. We came to Radiant Garden because the other Ex-Nobodies Axel talked about were here. The guy that looked you over was pretty sure you both can stay separate but you need time to heal. Roxas seems pretty much normal so far, so do you from his opinion, except that if either of you get poked the wrong way you both lash out like angry cats or something."

"That's normal for Roxas.."

"Maybe, but he didn't have a magic scarf that acts like Doc Ock's arms before either."

"What? Wait he has some new Nobody power? Cool! Did I get one?"

"Well.. you have dorky little baby Darkside wings?"

"….."

"You also blasted me into a wall and did the sink into shadows and disappear thing."

"OK that's better."

"So… You're really fine with the whole being part Heartless thing?"

"Riku, I chose to do it in the first place, just like you chose to use Ansem's body when Rox wiped the floor with you. We did it because we wanted to save people. I would do it again if I had to. The reason I'm afraid that I might completely forget everything is cause.. that's what happened the first time... But I think, as long as someone is there I can still remember. Kairi, Roxas, even you. Especially you.."

Riku stares for a long moment, then smiles, chuckling. "You can be so sappy sometimes you know that?"

Sora pouts punching his arm, but not with any real force behind it. Riku pulls him close again, "I didn't say it was a bad thing, its just who you are and I like that about you."

He practically felt Sora's heart skip a beat, Riku was seriously debating against ever sharing the finer details of this Dream Eater thing if only that Sora was never this open about his doubts when awake.

"Did you, really mean that before? About giving us a chance I mean?"

"Yes."

"But when you threw me that Paupou.."

"I told you, I was teasing. When you started hanging out with her so much I guess I got upset. I thought you liked her more than me. It didn't help that all the grown ups insisted you made the cutest couple, that hurt and I didn't know why. As we got older and I figured myself out more, it made sense. I think I've probably been attracted to you since we were kids. But by then I guess we were both too set in the idea of fighting over Kairi. The funny thing was that I was actually fighting Kairi over you."

Sora snorts, his hand reaching up to fiddle with his neckless while a fleeting strain of thought echoed _We both were…_ "I think she figured us out a long time ago.. When I told her that I liked you instead of her, the first thing she said was, 'It's about time!' she wasn't even hurt." he paused to yawn, eyes drooping. "Maybe it was a Princess thing?" His voice grew quiet, but thoughts still lingered, unaware Riku could hear them. _For the longest time I thought it was a dream, but maybe it was real after all? Could she… see... that light too..?_ The words drifted off as Sora fell asleep. Riku's body tingles with the familiar sensation of a Drop, but since they weren't in a magically induced sleep turned exam, it meant Sora was waking up on the outside.

 **DreamRiku's form inspired by: post/171783461743/what-if-i-like-just-did-a-series-based-on-rikus**

 **Why Sora made a pretty bad heartless inspired by Destiny Islander's comics of said scene on tumblr.**


	6. Wandering Shadows

**Phones, Axel keeping his name, the RG nobodies changing sides, and even anti's return, kh3 was lovely! Right until the ending… anyway, small break in my block! Hazzah! Enjoy this little rescue scene that has been in my plans since the beginning!**

A little over a week and a half passed after Riku had entered that dream. Sora true to his prediction, didn't remember very much of the conversation his human side had with Riku. Riku would find that out over the next couple of days cause that **Thing** kept coming back to mess with his Dreams and Riku would always feel that same insecure panic when it did. Dream Sora still had trouble keeping his Human thoughts from translating into Heartless ones, Riku now understood why Sora phrased it as a bundle of descriptions when a single thing turned into strings of run on word vomit. But Riku could tell some of it had stuck after repeated visits.

Sora was clingier than before, but also very cautious about initiating it, like if he was waiting to see if Riku would draw away and take back his promise.

Roxas at least, under the watchful eye of Evan and Axel, was slowly getting better. Regaining what weight Sora had lost and carefully training his muscles back up. Between the nitpicky physician and Leon supervising exercise, the group was hopeful the two would recover. Every other day or so Even or Ienzo would examine their hearts keeping track of their stability.

Unfortunately, that didn't go without some hiccups. It had taken a lot of trial and error to figure out what Sora could eat. Riku hoped it was just stubbornness at first when he outright avoided vegetables and most breads, opting only for things that were soft and sweet or included meat. It wasn't until Riku had practically guilt tripped him into eating a plate of curry for dinner that Even had to change tactics.

The night had ended up with Sora huddled in Roxas' arms trembling from a stomach ache that caused the Heartless to hack up not only dinner but splashes of dark ooze that would dribble down his chin throughout the night. He avoided Riku all the day after.

Turned out while in Anti form Sora was more prone to a carnivore's diet, hearts being their natural food and all, the sweets strangely seemed to be an exception to any being of the heart or emotion. Even ended up sending a request to Scrooge for special ice cream formulated with heavy doses of nutrients.

Another problem that they encountered was they both still tired fairly easily, it would take a long while still to fix what was wrong before the split even happened, but whatever had happened to them had set them back pretty far both magic and stamina wise, worse than Sora was before.

Roxas was often found asleep sunbathing or with all the lights in the room turned on, the latter of which caused the lamps to flicker after a while because how desperately his body was trying to absorb it. Sora was reduced to his Shadow size for most the day, especially when he tried to sunbathe with his twin. His Heartless skin more sensitive to bright lights than Roxas said it should be, something which caused endless worry for the other Keybearers.

Today however something new happened. The sky had been overcast, thick enough to leave Roxas with barely enough energy to keep awake, opting to burrow into Axel's side on the couch, leeching at his warmth while staring blankly at whatever movie was playing. Sora on the other hand had perked up a little, enough so that he decided to sneak out to explore alone.

Roxas could sense him faintly, stretching out further away in whatever direction he was moving. He couldn't blame him for being restless, no matter how tired they both felt. It was just ingrained by now with how long Sora had spent traveling and constantly fighting, added to tiring missions Roxas used to go on daily. Plus, they both had a deep hidden fear of falling into comas again if they let themselves sleep for too long.

Riku and Leon had left hours ago. Something about Cid and shopping managed to slip through the tired haze in Roxas' head, the rest of the ex-organization busy with their own tasks elsewhere. Ax had fallen asleep himself at some point, which is how Sora was able to get away in the first place.

Roxas couldn't help the uneasiness he felt at the others distance, they were separate now yes but it felt like there was still a rope between them that strained the longer and further apart they physically got from each other till it forcefully snapped them back together out of instinct. Something Even had enjoyed testing the limits of. It was stretching slowly, building up a tolerance, but still very fragile right now.

The blonde's thoughts had turned slowly towards hunger while a commercial for some pizza joint played on the tv, wondering how far off dinner was. Then the feeling of something _wrong_ washed over so suddenly that he choked on his own breath.

Roxas lurched upright, senses muddled with _heat_ and _pain_ and _anger_ , two of which he wasn't sure was actually his. There were arms around him, holding his own down as he thrashed to get away. A voice near his ear yelled and his own soundless cry for his Other summoned heavy footsteps. He felt his tails torn from their grip on his captor and the door he was trying to drag himself through by strong hands. White Nothings appeared to answer his call but were kept at bay by those holding him, he couldn't understand why until his head was forced to look at a face.

His eyes locked onto glowing green and felt the order to _still_ from the higher rank's gaze. His instincts warred between obeying and finding the source of his pain. The green won out, it's stare turning to the Nothings just long enough to have them search in his stead, returning back to him with the assurance of _stay here, we'll find him_. Roxas could only twitch in response, trusting but anxious.

Sora had wandered off a long ways into the canyon maw. Exploring the nooks and crannies that were too small for him to get into before he could travel through the shadows. It had been nice to get away from the new not-light people but now he was considering going back. His heart-twin was too far away now and making them both ache in their souls. Sora had just shadowed through into a wide space before he was face to face with his Not-kin. Tensing up with a growl and show of fang.

A swarm of morning stars and Crimson Jazz had surrounded him. His dark form blurred as he pounced to and fro, taking each down one by one. Blasts of darkness, claws and teeth felling one after another. Sora was actually having fun at first, the prey where _simpleeasy-slowandnoguard-hitthebackhittheback_. But there were so many, all surging in, closing his maneuvering space into an ever-shrinking area. _Getting-tired-why-so-soon?-No-gottafight-destroy-to-protectPROTECT!_ A dash to the left and into the air then _pain-hot-hurt-pain-burn-ow! Balls of fire-go-boomboomboom-stop-can'tmove!_

Falling to the ground in a ball of pain, struggling to puff himself _bigger-look-big-bad-dangerous-don't-mess-with-me!_ As now his prey had the advantage on him.

The first to leap on him were two Soldiers, sharp hands raking across his shoulders until he twists and caught a wrist in his teeth, the second drawing back for a spin attack before a wave of energy cut it in half. With speed too fast for his tired brain to track a man leaped between each group of Heartless killing many at a time with a blade as big as the man himself. The last heart that floated off being from the other Soldier that attacked him when it changed targets.

The man stood close and considered the strange Heartless, as his sword arm shifted digging the edge of the blade into the ground in front of him, Sora trembled and attempted to shuffle away hissing a warning, _go-away-don'thurtme-I'll-fight-you!_ The hurts didn't let him get far though.

The man dismissed his sword and crouched down. He looked less intimidating when he wasn't looming over Sora but Sora kept still anyway. Maybe he would decide Sora wasn't worth the meal and leave? Sora jumped when there was a sound of _flap_ and something dark stretched out from the man's shoulder.

Sora's eyes followed it as the wing unfurled, his head tilting curiously. Sora glanced between the wing and the man it was attached to before it was stretched towards him in offering. Sora picked up a hand and slowly reached over, letting his knuckle brush against the leathery limb.

It twitched in response like a normal wing should and Sora drew his hand back accordingly, but he could feel the darkness that had formed it. His own wings fluttering as he trilled in excitement.

The man looked familiar. He didn't feel like light, but he didn't feel like dark either. More of a mix of the two that was familiar and comforting, _like himself-like-Roxas-like-Riku._ They belonged to both sides, yet neither at the same time. _Not-light-not-dark-bothandnone._ The wing and the yellow hair prickled his mind until it clicked. Sora did know him, fought both against and with him, he had the same name as _the-puffy-white-things-in-the-sky-that were-too-high-up-to-reach!_ Cloud!

But why didn't he know right away? He recognized Roxas as soon as he woke up that first morning. He knew Riku, and Axel, and Kairi.. but then they came to here to where all these other people that _smelled-like-sort-of-Darkness he didn't know kept poking-prodding-staring at him, Heart-twin says they were safe but the cold-man-made-him-angry-why-cant-I-bite-him-please?!_ It felt like there was a lot of things he should know but didn't. Was it just that his memories looked so much different from what he sees now?

Sora was to tired to care right now, his skin burned and the dark aura that came off the wing was soothing as he leaned into it, Cloud lifted Sora onto his hip as easily as a toddler, the wing folding around him like a blanket to shade him from both the weak light and enemies view.

 **Allow me to explain! The 'soundless cry' and 'obeying higher rank', from Roxas was more to do with him being 'less of a nobody' at this point. I got to thinking about how the Dusks seemed to talk to Sora/Roxas telepathically, calling them 'liege' due to his rank and figured that was how Rox communicates when panicked. Of course only other Nobodies, former or not, can hear him. I also sort of get the feeling that lesser Nobodies aren't vocal at all? Especially when most of them don't even have real mouths? And that kinda is why they're so darn twitchy: replacing sounds with body language. So while Sora can make all the noises he wants Roxas loses his voice and his movements are more exaggerated. Roxas is more human than he was before, but the split also caused him to fall to more base nobody behavior when he gets unstable much like Sora does as a heartless. Yes he was a high ranking nobody, higher than the Dusks and other mass foot soldiers, but still ranked lowest in the Org aside from Xion. Therefore, anyone at the castle is higher than him still, while his own rank is now somewhere between his old one and the Twilight Thorn I based his scarf on (Don't care that wiki says its lower, that thing is just below the org in my opinion) the Dusks will still obey him but the other members come first.**


End file.
